Container



Nov. 28, 1933.

G. w. BUTTS ET AL 1,936,826

CONTAINER Filed Jan. 19, 1933 s Sheets-Sheet 1 E I C I Z 162 WITNESSES: 6 I'NVENTORVSI G 7 Gwrwmufis5 J/ mrem/flmLi/mmsm BY remq 5 A RNEYS.

1933- G. w. BUTTS ET AL 1,936,826

CONTAINER Filed Jan. 19, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 11"] JNESSES: [N1- ENTORS m3 22 1.6 4. ,4 TT

ORNE) l Patented Nov. 28, 1933 CONTAINER George W. Butts, Wynnewood, Pa., and Clarence H. Williamson, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January .19, 1933. Serial No. 652,480

6 Claims. (Cl. 294-67) This invention relates to containers, and more particularly to shipping containers of the type used on railway cars, motor trucks and trailers. Containers of this type are commonly made to such dimensions that a plurality of them arranged side by side may be conveniently accommodated on the floor of a freight car. While capable of many difierent uses, the containers of the present invention are especially useful for the car- 10 riage of stacked articles, such as bricks, tiles or the like.

Heretofore, for the transportation of brick, tile or the like, it has been common practice to employ containers with drop doors and to dump ll the lading at destination by opening the doors and allowing the contents to fall out indiscriminately. This manner of dumping the container contents involves considerable breakage and is particularly undesirable in connection with the transportation of high grade bricks,

such as face bricks.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a shipping container adapted for transporting bricks or other stacked articles in a package which is allowed to remain intact not only during transit upon. one or more vehicles, but also during the operations of loading the articles within the container and of unloading the articles from the container. To this end a 3 detachable load support, upon which the articles of lading are arranged in stacked formation, is provided in lieu of the container bottom; and means are permanently attached to the container walls for retaining the detachable load support in 5 place during transportation, while permitting its release when the articles of lading are to be discharged. The articles may therefore be discharged in stacked formation by merely lifting the container proper off the load support.

0 Other objects and advantages characterizing our invention will become more fully apparent from the description hereinafter set forth of a container embodying the invention and of an example of the manner in which the container may be used for the transportation of bricks,

the description having reference to the accompanying drawings, whereof:

Fig. I represents a side elevation of a container with a portion of the side wall broken away to show the interior of the container and the manner in which a package of bricks is load ed therein.

Fig. 11 represents an end View of the same with a portion of the end wall broken away; and, Fig. III represents a perspective view of a stack of bricks arranged on a lading platform.

The container shown in the drawings and selected as an example of our invention is a railroad container having such dimensions that when arranged side by side with other similar containers on the floor of a freight car, the lot of containers substantially occupies the complete floor space of the car. The container is shaped in the form of a box and comprises generally side walls 1, end walls 2, and a roof 3 of 66 sheet metal, and corner posts 4 and other framework to which the four closed walls and roof are attached. At the top of the container a pair of opposed loops 5 are provided, there being in the illustrated example of our invention one 70 loop at the center of each end wall. The loops 5 serve as means by which the container may be engaged and lifted by hoisting apparatus.

It will be noted that the corner posts 4 extend beneath the bottom edges of the side walls 1 and end walls 2, thus furnishing at their bottom ends four legs with a substantial space between the ground and the bottom edges of the side and end walls. The container has no bottom, and within the space adjacent to the bottom ends of the corner posts 4,1oad-carrying members in the form of strong ground engaging beams 6 are disposed across the bottom of the container frame, these members serving to support the contents of the container.

On each end wall 2 there is mounted stiffening member in the form of a casting 7 which extends across the end wall of the container from one corner post 4 to another. The casting 7 includes a horizontal member 8 and a series of vertical ribs 9 9 formed integrally therewith and extending outward some distance beyond the corresponding side wall of the container. Each rib 9 is perforated to afiord bearings for a shaft 11 which serves as the operating device for securing and releasng the load-carrying beams 6 with respect to the bottom of the container. At one end the shaft 11 terminates in a handle 12, and this handle is desirably located near a corner of the container. Mounted on each shaft 11 and fixed thereto are two U-shaped links 14, which are in the form of loops and normally extend downward in a vertical direction to engage the load-carrying beams 6. The links 14 are thus movably attached to and permanently associated with the container. Moreover, the links 14 when in their normal vertical position are guarded against impact with other objects by the outwardly projecting portions of the casting 7.

As clearly shown in Fig. m, the beam 6 sup- 11o port in spaced position above the ground a lading platform 24 which fits within the side and end walls 1, 2 of the container and affords a temporary bottom for the container while articles are being transported therein. Thus the beams 6 and platform 24 together constitute a detachable load support. The ends of the beams 6 are preferably cut away at 31 to accommodate the bottom of the links 14, and the parts of the container as well as the beams 6 are so proportioned as to verticaldimensions that when the container rests upon level groundthe beam ends 32 will clear the bottom of the links 14, as shown in Fig. 11. Accordingly, the load of the brick package is not transferred to the container until the container has been lifted a short distance above the ground, and there is no difllculty in swinging the links to and from positions underlying the opposite ends of the load support.

In transporting certain articles, particularly brick and tile, our improved containers are especially advantageous inasmuch as the handling of the brick or tile is reduced to a minimum. According to the practice of our invention, the brick, tile or. the like may be stacked at the place of origin on a lading platform 24 which in turn is supported and maintained above the level of the floor by beams 6. With the brick, tile or other articles properly stacked on the platform 24, the bottomless container is then lowered over the platform and its lading; and when the container is supported on the same floor as the platform, the links 14 may be swung by movement of the handles 12 under the ends of the beams .6 to the positions represented in Figs. I and II. Then when the container is lifted, it is obvious that the platform with its stacked brick, tile, or the like thereon will also be lifted, and the weight of the lading will be sufficient to maintain the links 14 in engagement with the beams 6. Moreover, the lading platform 24 will be rigidly held within the bottom portion of the container.

The articles thus loaded within a container may be transferred by motor truck, or freight car to the city of destination and there trucked to the building or site where the brick, tile or the like are to be used. The articles may then be unloaded from the container, either on the ground by swinging out the links 14 and withdrawing the container proper upwardly, or the container with its lading may be hoisted to any desired location within the building where the articles are to be used. In this manner it is obvious that the brick, tile, or the like are only handled two or three times at the most before they are put in place at the point where they are to be used by the bricklayer or tile layer. As will be readily understood, one platform 24 with a single package of bricks may be used, or two or more platforms 24 with smaller packages thereon may be placed, one above the other within a container.

While we have described and illustrated one form of bottomless container for transporting stacked articles, it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form of the con tainer and of the detachable load support, and in the arrangement of the articles therein; and that the container may be used for the transportation of many articles other than bricks and tiles, all without departing from the spirit of our invention as defined in the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A railway car bottomless container having a sheet metal roof and four closed side walls; a detachable load support having ground engaging portions and having its ends spaced above the ground, and means movably attached to and permanently associated with the container for directly supporting the ends of the detachable load support and for holding said support rigidly within the bottom portion of the container.

2. A railway car bottomless container having a roof and all closed side walls, a detachable load support having ground engaging portions and having opposite ends spaced above the ground, and means movably attached to and permanently associated with the container for supporting and retaining said detachable load support within the bottom portionof the container, said means including two elements movable into and out of operative position underlying the opposite ends of said support.

3. A railway car bottomless container having side walls, a detachable load support having ground engaging portions and having its ends spaced above the ground, and means movably attached to the container for supporting and retaining said detachable load support within the bottom portion of the container, said means including two'elements at opposite sides of the container, swingable into and out of position underlying the ends of said support.

4. A' railway car bottomless container having side walls, load supporting means comprising a lading platform and ground engaging members projecting beyond the ends of said platform and spacing the same above the ground, and means permanently and movably attached to the container for supporting and retaining said lading platform within the .bottom portion of the container, said latter means including loops swingingly mounted to move into and out of position beneath said ground engaging members.

5. In a bottomless container for use in transportation, the combination with a framework and sheet metal walls secured thereto; of devices for supporting and retaining a detachable load-carrying means, said devices comprising links pivotally attached to opposite walls of the container; and said load carrying means including a lading platform and a transversely extending beam spacing said platform from the ground and adapted to be engaged at its ends by said links.

6. A bottomless container for use in transportation, said container having a framework, sheet metal walls on all sides secured to the framework, stiffening members reinforcing said framework at opposite side walls near the base thereof, a detachable load support, and means movably attached to the stiffening members for supporting and retaining said support within the bottom portion of the container, said means including elements swingingly mounted to move directly into and out of position beneath and in engagement with said support, and said stiffening members extending outward beyond the positions of said swingingly mounted elements when engaging the load support and servingto guard said elements against impact.

GEORGE W. BU'I'IS. CLARENCE H. WILLIAMSON. 

